Digital competencies for Singapore’s national medical school curriculum: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Studies have shown that national-level initiatives to equip medical students with relevant digital competencies carry many benefits. Yet, few countries have outlined such competencies for clinical practice in the core medical school curriculum. This paper identifies current training gaps at the national level in digital competencies needed by students in the formal curricula of all three medical schools in Singapore from the perspectives of clinical educators and institutional leaders. It bears implications for countries that intend to implement standardized learning objectives for training in these digital competencies. Findings were drawn from in-depth interviews with 19 clinical educators and leaders of local medical schools. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling. Data were interpreted using qualitative thematic analysis. Thirteen of the participants were clinical educators while 6 were deans or vice deans of education from one of the three medical schools in Singapore. While the schools have introduced some relevant courses, they are not standardized nationally. Moreover, the school’s niche areas have not been leveraged upon for training in digital competencies. Participants across all schools acknowledged that more formal training is needed in digital health, data management, and applying the principles of digital technologies. Participants also noted that the healthcare needs of the population, patient safety, and safe procedures in the utilization of digital healthcare technologies should be prioritized when determining the competencies needed by students. Additionally, participants highlighted the need for stronger collaboration among medical schools, and for a stronger link between current curriculum and clinical practice. The findings highlighted the need for better collaboration among medical schools in the sharing of educational resources and expertise. Furthermore, stronger collaborations with professional bodies and the healthcare system should be established to ensure that the goals and outcomes of medical education and the healthcare system are aligned.

KEYWORDS:

• Technology
• medical education
• curriculum
• clinical competence
• Singapore

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the respondents for their participation in the research. They are also grateful to the reviewers for their helpful comments.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author, HZ, upon reasonable request.

Authors’ contributions

The first author, HZ, collected and analyzed the data, and wrote the initial drafts. The corresponding author, FKY, as well as the second and third authors, XX and JT, reviewed and edited the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the submitted copy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by SingHealth Duke-NUS Medicine Academic Clinical Programme under Seah Cheng Siang Distinguished Professorship in Medicine.